Just thought I'd kick start the March thread. Can't believe spring is around the corner already!

Had an ultrasound yesterday (22 weeks) and both babies seem to be doing well. I had been a bit worried since I feel almost all my movement on the left side where my girl is and almost nothing on my right where my boy is. Looks like he moved into more of a transverse position though with his legs aiming left so that helps explain it and made me feel better.

DH started painting the nursery yesterday too. So excited to see that coming along. Other than that much of the same here in terms of symptoms - backaches, joint pain, insomnia and heartburn.... fun, fun.

SS - Glad both babies are doing well! I tried using you to guilt DH into painting our nursery. We bought paint (for the stripes too!) but he hasn't been able to actually put the time in to paint. Hopefully this weekend!

WPP - thanks for the sleeping tip. I figured out that my belly isn't quite big enough to get a pillow under it comfortably, but rolling up a blanket has worked wonders. My hips are still a little sore but my back is much better! I also bought one of those pressure point rollers at Target which has been amazing.

I've been trying to figure out how much clothes we need at the beginning. It's so hard! I don't want to buy too many newborn things but then I realized this weekend that we have 1 pair of pants! Um, he'll probably need more than that, huh? I feel like we need an intervention to get through all the baby things in our dining room!

I hear you on not knowing how much clothing we'll need. I don't want to go overboard on any size. It's also tough since I know we're likely to have premies so I need to figure out how much premie, newborn and 0-3 month size clothing items we'll need and try to work out what's seasonally appropriate.

SS, I didn't have a preemie, but my DD was only 5 lbs, 7 oz when she was born and dropped down to 4 lbs 11oz...we never needed preemie clothes, but were in Newborn sizes for quite a while. I didn't know what I was having, so we had a stock of onesies and kimono t-shirts, plus about 3-4 sleep n plays (you'll hear mixed reviews on snaps vs. zippers, I liked them both), and 3-4 pairs of cotton pants and matching t-shirts (Carters sells the pants in 2-packs and the shirts in 4-packs) washed and ready to go in both Newborn and 3 months.

The onesies last a while...DS is in 9 month sleepers now, but can still get into both 3 and 6 month onesies...I'd get a lot of plain white onesies and kimono shirts. In the warm weather, when all else fails you can have them in those and wrap them in muslin blankets (the Aden and Anais ones are amazing...I use them for spit cloths, swaddles, top sheets for summer months, just about everything). Also means easy access for diaper changes which are very frequent in that first month (think once every 1-2 hours!)

If you do buy stuff...don't wash it all yet...I'd wash 3-4 of each size and keep the tags on the rest so you can return things...You'll get clothes as gifts (and more once kids arrive), and it's easier to return stuff you bought than the gifts.

It's really hard to know, but if you have easy access to a washer/dryer and relatively easy access to a Carters, BRU, or similar, I would go on the low side. And like luv said, keep tags on the rest. I was extremely surprised by how many people brought us clothes after DD was born. And you never know what kind of baby you're going to get, both in terms of size and in terms of spit up and/or diaper explosions. I thought we had loads of burp cloths, both flannel and the A&A ones, and DD turned out to be a MAJOR spit up queen. We had to buy more the first week because we needed to cover all surfaces and she was soaking so many each day. We also used the NB sized clothes for much longer than I thought we would, even though she was 7 lb 5 oz. Oh, and I loved the kimono shirts - I am a big believer in air getting to healing areas like the belly button (of course, that was summer so we didn't have to worry about cold) so I preferred them to onesies at first.

This will sound cynical, but go through your shower stuff now, and then return all the stuff you don't think you need. Then you'll be ready with your store credits in hand once the LO arrives and you think of different things - we burned through $300 in store credit pretty darn quick.

AFM - all is well. Had to take another 1 hour glucose challenge last week (apparently due to old age...), failed it, and took the 3 hour yesterday. Thankfully passed it. When they told me I needed to take it, it was a breaking point with all the other time I have to leave work for my twice weekly monitoring (starting this week, at 32 weeks). But once I accepted it, it went fine and was actually very peaceful. I also had my NST at the hospital instead of my doctor's office due to scheduling, and that ended up being great, too. I got to take a calmer view of the L&D room and they weren't busy so I talked for a long time to the L&D nurse doing the NST about all the nuances of the particular hospital. All continues to be good with the monitoring, although he was breech last Friday so now I'm doing some crazy exercises. :)

Lurking here but wanted to offer advice to SS and other first time moms struggling with what clothes to have on hand for newborns. My older DD was born in February and my younger DD was born in August and for both it was 3-4 weeks before I started "dressing" them in real clothes/outfits each day. The first month I basically had them each wear a onesie and/or pajamas (depending on the weather) and wrapped in a blanket. I second the recommendation for the aden and anais ones -they are amazing multipurpose blankets, well worth buying in advance of the baby being born. I would avoid buying any preemie clothes. Most of the newborn sized will fit just fine and, like someone else said, having room for belly button etc. to breathe is good. SS, if I were you, to make life less complicated during the first few weeks, I'd buy a ton (15-20) of the onesie shirts in plain white (from Carters, Childrens Place or even Gap) and have the babies wear those and then wrap them in cute blankets over them. Keep the shirts and diaper changing stuff in whatever room of the house that you are spending time in. That way, when they spit up or have a blow out etc. it will be easy for you (and whoever is helping you) to change them with little hassle. Buy a few outfits in newborn or 0-3 month for pictures etc. but for the days that you won't be leaving the house, I would focus on convenience. Plenty of time for fashion later - i'm sure you will get a ton of cute twin pics! Good luck.

I will echo what others have said about clothes and will say that the Carter's two-packs of pants were great along with matching onesies. DD lived in those for a while. I will also say that you probably (hopefully) won't need too many premie sized clothes. DD was a 33-week premie at 4 lbs 9oz. Most premie clothes are for under 5 pounds or under 7 pounds I think, depending on where you buy them. For the first week or two in the NICU, she was just swaddled in a blanket and diaper. Once she got a little healthier and the nurses let me dress her up everyday, we only needed a few outfits. By the time she came home she was 5 lbs and change and she was able to wear newborn size pretty quickly.

Chiclet - I would definitely stock up on the basics - pants, onesies, and socks (I never really thought too much about socks, but they always need them!) - the little socks are so hilarious - so small that we used to joke that they were really just thumb-warmers. You'll get the full-on more elaborate outfits as gifts, but a decent supply of the foundation, basic pieces are good to have in advance.

Med - glad that you passed your glucose test. I have mine in 2 weeks. Dreading it. I failed the one hour last pregnancy, but also passed the 3 hour one.

AFM, 24 weeks today. In the past couple of weeks this baby has decided to practice her kickboxing moves. Keeps me awake at night. Last night DH was able to feel the kicks for the first time, which is always cool. I'm not a fan of such kicks and punches, but I see them as reassuring and DD2 is letting me know she is doing okay in there.

Thanks for all the advice everyone on the clothing. It didn't really dawn on me that if these babies are born early they probably won't be released from the hospital until they are 5 lbs or close to it so I think I'll skip the premie clothes as suggested and just invest in a bunch of the white shirts. I did hear that the aden and anais swaddle blankets were amazing so I added a bunch of those to our registry. It's so tempting to buy cute outfits but seems to make more sense to try to make those first chaotic weeks this summer as convenient as possible.

Med - So glad you passed your glucose test. I have mine in 2 weeks like ALS and am dreading it also. Lots of people in my family are diabetics and my sister developed gestational diabetes in her pregnancy. Combined with my higher risk of getting it with a twin pregnancy I'll be very happily surprised if I pass.

ALS - I also have mixed feelings on all the kicking and punching I'm feeling lately. Its such a weird feeling I'm having a hard time getting used to it and it keeps me up at night too. But I do find it so reassuring at the same time. Glad DH got to feel them! My DH was so excited this past week to feel a kick for the first time too.

I just wanted to jump in to comment on the clothing.DD hates to get dressed, undress or to have anything go over her head.So, the two piece outfits didn't work for us at first.

For the first months I loved the layette sets or front snap/zipper gowns. I could undo the snaps/zipper and just slip her in.The 4 piece little layette sets are perfect for hospital and going home outfit. You can keep it as gowns or snap up to make pants when they need to go into the car seat.

I also preferred the side snap shirts for the first the month.

I found that the zipper sleep and play shrunk quickly a bit with every wash. She would outgrow the zipper ones after a couple of washes.I did not have a problem with the snap ones. Plus, with the snap ones you only have to unsnap half of the way to change the diaper!

SIL's baby shower was this weekend and it was really nice. Later, DH and I were having dinner at his parents' house and DH had this crazy panic when he saw feta cheese on my salad (DH is kind of...high strung) and MIL said, "What's wrong, do you not like feta?" I tried to be nonchalant about it, and DH stole most of my salad (trying to convince him that microscopic pieces are okay and we all probably eat more horsemeat) but MIL is rather intuitive so we figure she probably knows I'm pregnant.

We definitely didn't want to tell them on the day of SIL's shower and we're hoping for good news at the ultrasound on Thursday. If we see the heartbeat we'll start telling immediate family. We're both nervous (in general life & personality also) and I'm trying to convince myself that everything should be fine. There's so much waiting in the first trimester!

Whose due dates are next? Ita seems like spring is always a time of baby explosion.

WPP--Glad the shower was nice. GL with your u/s next week! My DH is a bit overprotective too, so I sympathize. :) Regarding books, I like the Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy that I have. It is well organized and non-alarmist. (I didn't think the coverage of the pregnancy loss/complications I experienced was so great, but I think this is a general weakness of this genre of book. Maybe they don't want to freak people out. I don't know. But I hope you never ever feel the need to read that chapter anyway!) Pregnancy is a lot of waiting. It's gotten a bit less stressful now that I can feel baby kicking around.

I am not up next--biding my time until June or maybe early July! I'm 25 weeks now, and I do look pretty obviously pregnant now, even for those who don't know me. 3rd trimester, here I come!

WPP - The only time you really need to worry about cheese is if it's from a local farm, then it might not be pasteurized. I'll ask at restaurants but anything that you buy at the grocery store is fine. As far as what foods you can and can't eat, I just looked at the risks and decided what I'm comfortable with. I don't mind nitrates but I'm not okay with listeria risks, so I eat bacon but not deli meat. Everyone's different.

I'm glad everyone's doing well. I don't think I'm next either, but I'm close. I'm just over 33 weeks. I'm still wearing my regular coat, but more and more strangers are asking me when I'm due. I'm trying not to wish these last weeks away (and believe me, I need more time to get everything ready) but I just want to meet this little guy!

the cheese thing is super confusing/annoying. But like Kar and Chiclet said, it's only if it's soft and made from unpasteurized (aka raw) milk that you need to worry. And it's pretty hard to find the "dangerous" stuff. Oh, and I also liked the Mayo Clinic book.

I'm also just over 33 weeks, like Chiclet! At my ultrasound yesterday, baby was head up. They said there is plenty of time and room and not to worry, but I'm starting to fret. If anybody needs me, I'll be hanging upside down off my couch. :)

Our baby is due mid-August and I was also wondering about clothes. I was thinking he wouldn't need much since it's going to be hot and humid.

We had an ultrasound today and they found a calcium deposit on the heart. They are sending us for another ultrasound next week. I am nervous, but our blood work from previous tests all came back OK and our rick for any genetic disorders is pretty low.

Frank, I'm so sorry about the scary ultrasound finding but hopeful that it will turn out to be nothing serious. Fingers crossed for a better ultrasound next week.

On the clothing topic, a recent mom I asked also mentioned that no matter what you will be doing laundry every other day. She said having wet clothes soaked in spit up, blow outs, etc. is so awful smelling 2 days is the most you can stand it. So from her perspective no need for dozens of outfits if you will be washing so frequently. I thought that made sense so just thought I'd share.

Frank, sorry to hear about the calcium deposit. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing, especially where your other tests came back normal.

Med, I'm pretty sure my little one flipped to transverse in the last few days (based on where I'm feeling kicks and hiccups at least). I might be hanging off the couch with you if he doesn't fix himself by our next appointment!

I have a total first-time-mom question... When exactly do babies wear pajamas? My MIL just dropped off a bunch of those one piece sleeper things with the feet. We also have a few layette sets and one of these nightgown things. (Links included because I don't know what any of these things are really called!) To me, these are all pajamas. But if we are lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps in a swaddle, do we need these? I was thinking that we'd put him in a onesie and the swaddle blanket to sleep, but now I don't know when he wears all these other things. Does he wear pajamas and the swaddle blanket? I don't want him to get too hot. (Also, I'm a little irked that MIL brought us all these clothes because she "couldn't have her grandson be naked" - her exact words. I at least hoped that he'd get here before she started thinking I'm a bad mother. I'm trying to be grateful for her generosity and I'm sure she had fun shopping, but of course, she had to say it that way.)

In terms of smelly clothes soaking...get a tupperware with a lid on it and leave it by your washing machine. When I need, I put the stained clothes in there with some water and oxi and then it goes in with the next load. I personally am not one for doing laundry every other day, and this worked out just fine for me with my first two...

Frank - I will be thinking of you with the u/s finding. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing!

Smiley - I love that idea. I am going to try that if I get another spit up baby.

Chiclet - I think it depends on the weather and your preferences. My DD was born in the summer, so she did wear a onesie (or kimono shirt) and swaddle for sleeping usually. But if it's chilly, they can have pj's under the swaddle, as long as they're not getting too hot. Also, the one piece sleeper things (often called "sleep and play") and layette sets are totally acceptable daytime wear for babies! :) Again, my DD was in the middle of a hot summer, so it was mostly onesies / kimono shirts during the day, but I usually see newborns out and about in those type of outfits. Don't have to worry about separate socks, which is nice. Personally, I did not like the nightgown things at all - I felt like they were hard to put on and too much extra fabric in the way when I wanted to change the diaper. And you can't have them in the car seat, so not useful as daytime wear. But, I was given a few by a friend who thought they were the greatest ever for her two kids, so again it's all about your preference.

I know what you mean about MIL phrasing... not sure why they can't just say that they were excited and wanted to buy stuff!

Frank - hopefully the calcium spot is nothing. I am sorry that you have to go through all that. I feel that today's advanced technology is both a blessing and a curse sometimes. It seems like there is always something to worry about! Hang in there.

Chiclet - I will second what med said about the nightgown things - I hated them too. I found them awkward and it was a lot of material to pull over DD's head to get her in it. We were big fans of the sleep n play and one piece sleepers. My DD is about the same age as med's and it was a pretty hot summer back in 2010. That said, my DD hated the swaddle - so we always had her in pjs for sleeping (and if my DH was watching her - she stayed in those all day. He liked the one-piece things - it was so much easier for him). In my opinion, you can't have enough of the one piece sleepers. They just look so darn comfy too!

I will third the love of sleep n plays :o) For a summer baby, a onesie (or nothing) might be best under the swaddle, but with DD being born in February, I definitely used sleep n plays under the swaddle. You will come to love anything that doesn't involve socks falling off!! My MIL also went crazy buying things I didn't feel that I needed. To this day, I have still only opended two cribs sheets and two diaper changing covers. If one is dirty, I throw it in the laundry and put on the other. It definitely helps having a washer and dryer on hand!

Frank - sorry to hear about the calcium deposit. Good luck with the future testing.

Med - Sorry that you had to do the 3 hour glucose test, but that is great that you passed! I luckily passed the 1 hour with both pregnancies, which I am thankful for. Sorry that your little one is breech. I know someone who recently had a breech baby and the baby turned on its own. I have also heard of acupuncture helping turn a breech baby.

I love the idea from whoever said that they practice their breathing exercises when they can't sleep in the middle of the night. I am going to start doing that!

I am doing pretty good overall. Some days are worse than others, and still not sleeping great, but I am in the home stretch. A little more than a month away....due date is 4/19! Although I was 11 days late the first time....

Frank, I hope you get good news at your next ultrasound! Did they say anything about what the calcium deposit means?

Memes, you're almost there! Who knows, this one could be on time or early. :)

I had an ultrasound on Thursday and we saw the heartbeat! It was awesome. It was super fast--I think they said 167 bpm--and there's definitely a little sea monkey in there. My RE is graduating me to OB/the midwifery program and DH and I are feeling a lot better about everything going well.

I'm measuring later than expected so I'm a little confused about my due date--somewhere around Oct. 23-27. I'm 8-ish weeks now. Not that the date matters; it could be two weeks on either side of that. My first midwife appointment is April 9.

We made up a reason to go over to my IL's house tomorrow so we can tell them and then we'll probably FaceTime my parents and SIL (DH's sister) who live farther away. We'll wait a few more weeks to tell friends.